"It's really, really super sexy to be here." - Bert McCracken

August 4th will be a day I'll remember for a very long time. It was my first Warped show. And it was also my first time interviewing a band. I had lots of things I'd wanted to check out at Warped; unfortunately, I barely saw anything. When I arrived at the gate, I was told where to locate Wendy, the woman in charge of press, and to sign in for my interview with Bowling For Soup. With a little time to kill, we went back downstairs to see what was what. I've never seen so many people crowded into one area. The two main stages were set up directly next to each other in front of Lake Michigan with a beautiful view of the Downtown Milwaukee skyline (humble as it may be). After each band played their 30-minute set (yes, each band played for the same amount of time) the next band would immediately launch into their set on the other stage. I managed to catch about half of Glassjaw's set before it was time to manuever my way back upstairs to the Press Pit for the interview.

My interview (with Chris, guitarist of Bowling For Soup) took so long that we were joined toward the end by bassist Erik, who'd finished his own interviews. J-Man, my partner-in-crime for this show, busied himself while I was working, taking pictures for me, and managing to snag Chris from Less Than Jake for another interview. By this time, Bowling For Soup were scheduled to go onstage. Unfortunately, by the time we found the Ernie Ball stage, made our way to the front, and were informed that my photo pass meant squat because there was no room in front of the stage... They had already played their latest single, "Punk Rock 101," and started into the post-break-up "Emily." Though they're usually lumped into the pop/punk category, there's nothing really punk about this band. It's all upbeat, fun rock 'n roll, with an occassionally surprising foray into heartfelt emotion hidden beneath catchy choruses and guitar hooks.

The crowd for BFS was tightly crammed between the "Balls Of Steel" (motorcycle cage) and the giant Slip-and-Slide, and fully focused on this amusing rock band from Texas. How can you not love a band that, despite only having a 25-minute set, manage to throw in a medley of Avril Lavigne, J-Lo, Eminem, Shaggy (including Jaret doing a killer imitation of Shaggy's garbled voice- which I didn't realize wasn't a recording until I looked up to see him singing it), finishing off with Justin Timberlake and 50 Cent. I'm not entirely positive I'm not adding songs to the set, because I believe they also played "Belgium," "Surf Colorado," "Life After Lisa," and "Scaring Myself." As the sun finally started to bake everyone (it had been overcast all day), Jaret announced that Milwaukee kicked Detroit's ass, and that it had warmed up 'cause there were "So many hot pieces of ass." As the bodies were flying, they played "The Bitch Song" (dedicated to Erik's mother) and the big sing-along came during the last song, their big hit "Girl All The Bad Guys Want."

I then made my way towards the main stages to find J-Man and his friend Dave. I paused to watch a kid get his head shaved at the "Free Mullets and Mohawks" tent, considered getting a 'hawk myself, then moved on. Only to be nearly run over by Tim and Lars from Rancid, sweaty from stage, followed by eager fans. Unfortunately, Rancid played at the same time as BFS. I did managed to catch a bit of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes' show. With the flashy retro guitars and matching shirts, they're a sight to see. And hear, as they only play covers. I was witness to such ska classics as "Nothing Compares 2 U," "Take Me Home, Country Roads," and "Stairway To Heaven." It's amusing to think of how many Gimme fans have no idea who sang the originals.

The next hour and a half was spent making the acquaintance of some fine gentlemen, namely Dave, a rep from Warner Bros. Records, Kenny from Rock 102.1, Quinn and Jeph from The Used, and Dan and Phil of Story of the Year (the latter of which I managed to snag for another interview). With not a moment to spare, off we raced to check out Less Than Jake on the Teal stage. I've since learned that the main stages at Warped were named after the stage managers- Brian [Kountz], [Greg] Teal, and Maurice [Acousta]. LTJ are another horn-punk band, which I'm discovering I have an affinity for. With duel vocalists, and a headbanging saxaphonist, how can you not enjoy their show? They're supporting their new album, Anthem and though I don't know any of their music at the moment, their name was the one on my lips as I left that night. Perhaps that had to do with the fact that vocalist Chris got the crowd to run around the various Van's booths to create a giant figure-eight pit.

Finally finding myself with a few minutes to wander, I checked out a couple of the booths nearby. I picked up a CD from the SideOneDummy tent, and I'll make note that despite my attempt to put a smile on the vendor's face, he wasn't having it. After being told that I looked tired, I sat for a while, watching some dogs wrestle, some people play hack, and BFS sign autographs. Then it was off again, to watch The Used. While I won't proclaim to be the biggest Used fan in the world, this is definitely a band that's found its way into my heart (especially after this show). I don't know what it is, but the particular method of screaming that vocalist Bert McCracken uses touches a place inside - I've found I like to scream along, so listening to The Used is cathartic for me. The band is definitely known for its live show, where Bert has literally vomited from exertion. Thankfully that wasn't the case today. They played such hits as "The Taste Of Ink," "Blue & Yellow" (a crowd favorite with a Dashboard Confessionals-worthy singalong), and "Buried Myself Alive." Claiming "It's really, really super sexy to be here," and enticing the crowd to do the wave, using their middle fingers, Bert proudly declared "You guys just made my entire life worth living." And then mooned us. (I'll refrain from any "McCracken" jokes at this point.)

That was the end of Warped for me, though later I attended a private Less Than Jake show at the Hollister store at the Mayfair Mall. Talk about intimate! Imagine a hundred fans crammed into a room about the size of a livingroom. It was great though. My overall opinion of Warped was that you must be prepared to spend the entire day - get there early. There's just not enough time to see everything. I think in order to see everything that you'd want to see, three Warped shows would be required. That's not a bad idea, I'll have to see what the schedule is like for next year...

More Warped photos here.

Van's Warped Tour
Bowling For Soup
Less Than Jake
The Used

Photos by Jaimie (and J-Man).